Plans to raise police precepts in Teessiders' Council Tax to find an extra £5m investment for street wardens and officers has led to a flood of critical questions from readers.

The councillors who are in support of Ken Walker and the Chief Constable advocate that we should accept the rise in council tax and wait to see what the results are before we criticise.

Won't that be far too late? And if the results are not as expected, will the council tax be reduced? Not likely!

Before asking for our money, show us some incentive, as we saw four or five years ago when Ray Mallon decimated crime in our town. Unfortunately he was removed and our crime rate soared again while our police force fought each other instead of the criminals.

To reduce crime means reducing costs so, if we are doing as well as we are led to believe, we should be saving on our expenditure.

I think bad deployment can be an excuse for a so-called under-staffed force. When we see the numbers deployed whenever a dignitary or VIP visits the words usually are: "where do they all come from?"

T SEALE, Middlesbrough

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So Ken Walker says the majority of us are in favour of a tax rise to fund the police?

If you believe this, we will see him flying around on a hog's back, probably cheaper to run than the helicopter, which wakes us all up in the early hours.

Come on Cllr Walker, put your money where your mouth is and let's all have a democratic vote. I bet you daren't.

ROGER BAILEY, Middlesbrough

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With regard to the police authority and Councillor Ken Walker, if a company or business is under-performing year on year for several years, despite more and more public money being pumped in, and in all that time has the same managers, then surely the most obvious thing to do is replace the managers?

Cleveland Police Force has been managed for the last seven years by Barry Shaw who has now been replaced. But Cllr Walker is still here.

He is trying to close the stable door after allowing the horse to bolt, but we have to pay the price for getting the horse back in again.

KC, Beechwood, Middlesbrough

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Those who blame the increase in precept by the Police Authority for the impending unaffordability of the council tax are missing the point. The council tax is as regressive as the rates and the poll tax before it.

Tony Blair talks of reform and misses the reform that could make a difference.

Council tax takes insufficient account of ability to pay. It is those whose incomes are the lowest who pay the greater proportion of their income. I am reminded of the part of the New Testament Margaret Thatcher quoted with the greatest approval. In the parable of the talents those who were poorest ended up by having to pay all that they had.

I gather that pensioners can use a precedent set in Kent to limit their increase in council tax to the rate of inflation.

Yet if they succeed in winning this in court the effect will be subsidisation to pensioners from other council tax payers, many of whom will be on low incomes themselves.

Poor Peter to pay poor Paul!

GEOFFREY BULMER, Billingham

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The proposed 25pc rise in the police authority budget will not bring about an immediate surge in the number of policemen on the beat as Ken Walker, Police Authority chairman, would have us believe.

With a lengthy process of recruitment, selection, training, it is unlikely that any of the 100 extra police will be on the streets before 2005/06. What we should be seeing now are all of those extra police officers promised by Cllr Walker over the past four years, the 'coppers for coppers'.

In 1997/98, the Council Tax based on a Band D property for Cleveland Police was £54.87, for Durham Police £52.29 and for Northumberland Police £52.73. In the year 2003/04 this has risen in Durham to £75.76, in Northumberland to £63.80 and in Cleveland to £120.22. If the proposed rise of 25pc goes ahead, this will rise to £150 or more - almost three times what it was eight years ago.

Surely we are entitled to ask where the money goes? It most certainly is not on higher profile and more visible policing.

People who foot the bill for the Cleveland Police are entitled to this information.

I will not be deterred in my quest for common sense to prevail in this year's budget setting.

I have already written to the Local Government Minister requesting the proposals are looked at carefully, and hopefully this will stop these huge annual increases once and for all, thus forcing the authority to look for savings within the organisation as everyone else must.

CLLR BOB GIBSON, Leader of Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

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I don't think any of the people writing in to criticise the size of the increase proposed in the police precept are against extra police on the streets, a ridiculous assumption. Far from it, we have had two years of increased charges in the fond hope that we would see some improvement, but no such luck.

In his letter of January 6, Mr Leat asks "is £20 a year so outrageous?". By the way, Cllr Walker quoted 50p a week, which in my book is £26 a year. I don't know how Mr Leat works out his financial outgoings for the coming year, but I'd start with that £26, then add the increase in the council tax, water charges, gas and electric charges, transport and retail prices. Compare that with your increase in your pension and you know for a fact that something has to go. No sweat for the councillor, he's already upped his allowances.

Does Mr Leat read the rest of the Gazette I wonder? If he does he must have read the good news from our new Chief Constable a few days ago. Apparently our police funds will benefit by a £1m underspend this year, so now Cllr Walker can reduce his huge precept to an acceptable level and everybody will be happy.

The bad news is that our new Chief Constable would like to create a reserve fund (wouldn't we all). Where from I wonder? Keep asking questions about that £1m folks.

MR G TATE, Redcar

* Coming soon: Cleveland Chief Constable Sean Price and Police Authority Chairman Ken Walker are set to answer YOUR questions in an Open to Question feature next week.